Life After Death
by Kris Wright
Summary: Padmé dies. Or does she? A look on how Leia grows up, and how she knows ObiWan. Set after RotS. Slight spoilers for RotS unless you are an obsessive fan and have already guessed the outcome.


She woke up and looked around her. She was in a dark room and there were white daisies in her perfectly curled hair. Her hands squeezed around a metal chain with a wooden medallion connected to it. She pushed her hands gently on her stomach and memories came flooding back. She gave birth to his twins. Luke and Leia. Where were they? And where was she? She quickly sat up and looked around. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark and it looked as if she was in a sort of….tomb. What had happened after the labor?

"Padmé," she heard a voice call. She knew that voice anywhere.

"Obi-Wan," she replied in a slight panic.

He rushed forward so she could see him to reassure her. "It's all right, Padmé, you're safe."

"What happened?" she asked reaching out for him.

He lightly grasped her hand and sat next to her. "You lost the will to live, but I thought that if you saw your children, you'd want to live again. I talked to the doctors into administering a new drug that rejuvenates life after a week of dreamless sleep."

"But the chances of surviving that are…"

"Very slim, I know. But I knew that some part of you wanted to stay alive. A part that fell in love with the twins the moment you saw them."

Tears formed in Padmé's eyes. How could she have been so selfish to leave her children behind when they had no one else? "How are they?"

"They are growing extremely fast. I've been discussing their fates with Yoda and Senator Organa."

"What is to happen with them?"

"The girl will be taken with the Senator and the boy will be raised by his aunt and uncle. I will watch over him as well to make sure he is safe."

"Will I be able to see them before they are split apart?" The thought of her children growing up away from each other, from her, was heart wrenching.

"Of course. They are being kept on our base for the moment. We are separating them tomorrow."

They fell into comfortable silence. "Obi-Wan?" She asked after a few minutes.

"Yes, Padmé?"

"What about Anakin? Won't he know where I am?"

"He thinks you've died, like everyone else does. You just had a funeral, so you'll be kept hidden, now."

"Where will I go?"

"The Senator has arranged for you to be a handmaiden in his household. You can watch over Leia that way."

Padmé smiled and squeezed his hand. "Thank you, Obi-Wan."

He nodded politely. "We must leave soon if we are to make it to the base unnoticed," he said, quickly changing the subject.

She nodded and tried to swing her legs over the "bed" she was on. She couldn't. "Obi-Wan, I can't move my legs," she said as she struggled to make them move.

"Right, you haven't been using them for some time now, so the feeling will be gone for a few hours."

"Then how are we going to leave?"

He thought quickly before reaching one arm around her back and one under her legs. "Pardon me for this," he said, and lifted her with ease.

"Your Jedi powers have made you very strong," Padmé responded as he moved quickly to the door and through the brush.

"I am officially not a Jedi anymore."

"What do you mean?"

He was starting to pant as he ran with her toward a safe place to rest. "I mean that the Order is gone. There are no more Jedi save for Master Yoda and myself."

"Oh, right," she said to herself. He had stopped and placed her gently on the ground. He then ran off a short distance to retrieve the hidden shuttle. When he returned she resumed asking questions. "Does Anakin know…?"

"He knows that I am alive, I fought him and won. He probably knows that Master Yoda is alive after his encounter with Lord Sidious." And with that, Obi-Wan lifted Padmé off her feet and carried her aboard the shuttle.

The ride to the base was relatively quiet and by the time they landed Padmé had regained the feeling in her legs again. She walked off board and into a full operating base of the Republic that was still on the Jedi's side. As she and her Jedi companion made their way through the station, she felt her children's presence and was drawn toward them. She ran blindly through the corridors until she reached the room where her babies were being taken cared of. She came upon the first bassinet and picked up the resting child. "Hello, my Luke," she cooed as she rested him into her arms.

Obi-Wan rushed into the room to find her slightly rocking back and forth while holding her son. He gave a small smile when he saw her happy. He was glad that Anakin had given her something good in all of the chaos he had put her through. "I see you have found the children," he said startling her.

"Oh, yes, I have. I just sensed them calling to me."

"They must have Jedi in them." He paused then said, "I'm sorry to have startled you."

"It's all right. And, I hope for their sakes they don't have any Jedi traits, it'll be easier for them to be sensed."

"Indeed it will help in his search."

She walked over to him and placed the sleeping baby into his arms. "He seems to like you. He's a wise boy." She raised her brown eyes to look into Obi-Wan's blue-grey ones. She then turned away and went to pick up Leia. She looked down upon the girl in her arms.

"I don't think I can do this," she said quietly.

He looked up to her and said, "Of course you can."

"No, I can't. I can't just stand in a corner and watch someone else raising my daughter."

Obi-Wan put Luke back down and walked over to her. "Padmé," he began, "you can do anything you set your mind to. You are one of the strongest people I know, and most of those people are Jedi."

She smiled softly. "That means a lot, Obi-Wan."

He lightly stroked her hair and said, "It's the truth. You are truly amazing and you don't know how much I admire your strength."

Padmé leaned over and lightly kissed his cheek. She pulled back and looked at him. "You are a great friend. I will surely miss you."

"We'll see each other again. I promise."

Padmé had been living on Alderaan for six years now. Her daughter was a bossy little girl with a short temper. Her hair was a soft chestnut brown and her eyes were almost the same color. She indeed was going to have the good looks that her mother possessed, but for now she was just a cute child. Padmé was her handmaiden, as Bail Organa had requested. She was also Leia's best friend and confidante. But there were times when she was the princess' enemy.

"Time to take your bath, your highness," Padmé said to the young girl who was standing on her private balcony looking over the lands.

The little girl turned around and said, "No way."

Padmé smiled at this, for she had been doing this for many years. "Milady, princesses smell nice and look nice. Do you not want to be a princess?"

"No."

"All right then, Princess, I'll just have to tell your father about your abdication, I suppose?" she said turning towards the door.

"No!" Leia ran toward her mother and stopped her at the doorway. "Don't tell my father! He'll be so hurt. He's already lost enough."

Padmé gave her a sad smile. "I know, your highness."

Leia looked at the ground and then back up at Padmé. "You never told me about my mother. You said you were going to when I was old enough. I'm old enough now. Tell me!"

"Only if you get in the bath."

The little princess rushed toward the washroom and waited for her handmaiden to enter. "You're slow."

"I'm older than you are, milady."

"Will you stop that? I keep on telling you just call me Leia."

"I'm sorry, milady, but you are of higher class than I am, I must call you by a proper term," Padmé said while pulling the dressing gown over the girl's head.

"Why?"

"Because it's polite."

"I don't care about being polite," Leia said as she climbed into the bathtub. She sat down and looked at Padmé. "So, my mother…"

"She was very beautiful."

She rolled her eyes. "I already know that. I mean, what was she like? I can't remember."

"Don't you think this should be a question for your father? He knew her better than I did. I only came on after you were born," Padmé said as she scrubbed Leia's scalp with soap.

"I can't ask him. He's still too sad," Leia said with a frown. "I wish I could make him feel better."

"I know you do, milady, but people need to grieve," Padmé said. She knew this from experience. It was hard to get over the fact that her husband, the father of her children, had turned to the Dark Side. He controlled the entire galaxy. But she had to keep remembering Obi-Wan's advice: think of Anakin as dead, because there is no Anakin anymore; only Vader.

"What happened?" Leia asked bringing Padmé back from her reverie.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry, milady. I was…just thinking about how kind the Queen was to me. She didn't treat me like a servant, but as a friend."

"That's how I treat you."

Padmé laughed. "It is, but I still called her 'her majesty' and I still call you 'your highness.'"

"You should stop. I don't care, and I doubt Father would care, either."

She sighed. "I think he would." She looked down upon her daughter. It was amazing how much she was reminded of herself at Leia's age.

Another handmaiden appeared at the door. "Padmé? The Prince Consort would like to have the princess be ready to receive a guest in two hours time."

She nodded. "Thank you, Curaé." She looked at Leia. "Well, I think you're done here, let's get you into appropriate attire."

The girl groaned as she was pulled out of the water and wrapped into a robe. "I don't see why I always have to be there when one of Father's friends come to visit. I don't even know half of them," she whined.

"Oh, and what would you rather do, milady?"

"Play with the other children around here. They think I'm some snob who wants nothing to do with them."

She looked at Leia and after a long pause said, "I'll talk about it with your father. Maybe I can convince him that staying up here for the rest of your life is not the best idea."

Leia smiled. "Thank you Padmé!"

"You're welcome. Now get dressed so I can fix your hair."

"Thank you Bail, you have no idea how happy this will make her."

"Well, I only wish for her to be happy," he replied. "You may leave, now. I must meet our guest, he shall be arriving soon."

Padmé smiled and walked out of the room. She found Leia sitting on a bench in the yard. "Hello, your highness," she said sitting next to her.

"What did he say?"

"He said to go and live your life. Make new friends and be the most popular girl in town."

Leia smiled and hugged her handmaiden. "You are the best Padmé." She then leapt off the seat and ran out to the town.

"Wait, not now!" But the girl was gone. "Oh, great," she said under her breath. She stood up and decided to take a walk on the grounds. She had been walking for about a half an hour when she spotted the princess with a group of people. They were laughing and running around. She soon saw the back of Leia's dress. It was covered with dirt and mud. Her hair was about to fall out of it's clasp. She couldn't greet the Prince Consort's guest looking like that. Padmé had to clean her up. "PRINCESS LEIA ORGANA!"

Leia looked up and saw her handmaiden rushing up to her. _Uh oh_, she thought, and started to run. Padmé was soon on her heels.

They ran around the palace and made their way into the courtyard. Leia knew she had to hide soon so she could stay away from being sweet and kind. Padmé knew she had to find Leia soon so she could clean her up to make Bail Organa happy. One of them was going to lose. Leia ran into the palace to find her secret closet. She had hid there numerous times to get away from Princess duties. They ran through the kitchen and dining room and soon made it to the foyer. That was what stopped Padmé in her tracks.

She stared at the guest in disbelief. "Obi-Wan?" she asked.


End file.
